Karis Blog

Natural disasters. Sex trafficking. What do those two have to do with each other? A lot, actually. A CNN.com article recently explained the connection between the two. Think about it. Something catastrophic hits. What do you have? Kids dazed and walking around. Schools no longer in session. Relatives dead or missing. Homes damaged or destroyed. Disaster comes upon people already in poverty. Those who survive are even more eager to hear a pitch for a better life.

So the vile roam around picking on the vulnerable. They impersonate relief workers or missionaries. They recruit unsuspecting children for the sex trade. This was observed recently in Nepal. Last year a 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed over 8000 people. A 7.3 two weeks later killed even more. But as a result, sex-trafficking surged. Even without earthquakes, experts estimate that as many as 20,000 children are trafficked out of Nepal annually, most of them to India. And that’s just one country.

This is a tough world! That’s so hard to hear. What are you going to believe in? What are you going to do with that? We hear of more airport bombings. More beheadings from ISIS. People are starving all over the world. They’re trapped in nations with corrupt, inept governments.

In our nation, poverty is everywhere. Racism no longer can be denied. Crime makes us live too much in fear. And we look to our leaders to help us, and we’re even more discouraged.

Most of us know someone with cancer. Car accidents take out entire families. And who knows? Maybe a natural disaster will come our way. There’s so much sin. So much suffering. Where can we go? What can we believe in? What are you gonna believe in?

The Tomb Is Empty

In Luke 23, Jesus is crucified between two thieves. As people surround and mock, He breathes His last. He’s buried in a tomb by a kind man. Some women prepare spices for His body.

In chapter 24, they return on the first day of the week. They’re hoping to embalm his body. But they’re shocked. The stone covering the tomb has been rolled away. They body’s not there. Verse 3 says, “When they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.” They’re perplexed.

At that moment, two angels appear. Look at verses 5-6. They ask, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” They say, “He is not here, but has risen.” The women should have known this, they remind them. Jesus told you this!

They run out as fast as they can and tell the disciples. But the text says they get laughed out of the room by them. Verse 11 - “but these words seems to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.” Peter, though, checks things out. He goes to the tomb. He sees Christ’s burial clothes, but not Christ. He runs home, blown away.

Here’s the first fact we see here today: THE TOMB IS EMPTY, BUT THE DISCIPLES STRUGGLE TO BELIEVE.

Jesus is Seen Alive

That same day, two men are walking from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus. Jesus comes up alongside them. He hears them talking and asks what’s going on. They explain the whole thing to the Lord. He ends up giving them a Bible lesson. They should have seen this coming. That’s what He tells them.

At the end of their journey, the men beg Jesus to stay with them and eat with them. They realize who He is just as Jesus disappears. They run to tell the disciples. They tell them, verse 34, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” They begin to recount what just happened.

But Jesus is kind to them. He eats some fish with them. He shows them His scars, inviting those disciples to touch him.

He spends time with those disciples. He teaches them from the Bible. He reminds them that He had told them this was coming. He then commissions them. They will go share this news now for Him. He ascends into heaven.

Here’s the second fact we see here in this passage: JESUS IS SEEN ALIVE, BUT THE DISCIPLES HAVE DIFFICULTY TRUSTING.

Let’s pause there for a second. Don’t we have doubts, too? I know I do. Is this all true? Their doubts should encourage us. They’re doubting. And they’re right there in front of Him! Jesus understands. He’s patient with us.

One quick side point: this is another reason why we can trust this account here. If you’re making something up, you don’t show yourself in such a bad light. You don’t make yourself look like an idiot, like a doubter. Right?

Foretold In Scripture

Jesus is patient with these disciples. He spends time with them. He points them to the truth. He says, “Have you guys forgotten your Bibles?” He reminds them that the Scriptures foretold all of this.

Listen to what Jesus says to those men on that road:

Luke 24:25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Hear again what He tells those disciples.

Luke 24:44 “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

Jesus says, “All your Bible points to me! It’s all about my life, death, and resurrection! How can you guys not see this?”

He’s probably reading to them from the book of Isaiah. Look at chapter 53 with me:

Is. 53:10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
Is. 53:11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Is. 53:12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Do you see His cross in those words? What about His resurrection? It’s all there. THE TOMB WAS EMPTY. JESUS WAS SEEN ALIVE. AND THIS WAS FORETOLD IN SCRIPTURE.

Fulfilled in History

BUT IT WAS ALSO FULFILLED IN HISTORY - BECAUSE THE TOMB WAS EMPTY, AND JESUS WAS SEEN ALIVE. Both of those things actually happened. Those prophecies came true. 1 Corinthians 15 says he appeared to Peter, to the twelve, and then to 500 others. The tomb was empty. Jesus was witnessed alive.

But you might be thinking, “Of course, the Bible says that. But how do we know it really happened?” Well, the Bible itself is by far the most well-attested ancient book we have. And sources from outside the Bible clearly state that all of this happened.

But you also might ask, “Maybe they made it up to make themselves feel better. Or maybe they came up with it to trick people. Maybe they even convinced themselves. There’s two things I’ll say about that.

That assumes that they actually desired that or thought it would have been believable. N.T. Wright and others have pointed out that the Gentiles would have been repulsed by the idea of a bodily resurrection. They wanted to escape the body. And Jews would have found it simply unbelievable. They looked forward to a future resurrection. But the thought of one guy being resurrected far in advance? They had no categories for that.

But here’s the main way we know this isn’t made up. They gave their lives for it. This new worldview exploded all over that part of the world. And the guys who took that message ended up dying. Somehow they shed their doubts. Why? It gave them hope. Deep, deep hope.

The Resurrection Brings Hope

The tomb was empty. Jesus was seen alive. There are three blessings of that resurrection I want to share with you now. First, the resurrection brings hope.

Do you struggle with hope, as you look at yourself and this fallen world? There is great hope here. As Tim Keller likes to say, even if you struggle to believe this, you want it to be true. It gives us hope for the body. Verse 37 says the disciples think they see a spirit. But they’re wrong. He has a real body. This is a bodily resurrection. He eats with them. He lets them touch him. But there’s something else going on. Verse 36 says Jesus just appears suddenly in the room with them. This is right after he just disappears from the other guys. This is a body, but it’s perfect. It’s in some way, different.

This is our hope, too. Our hope is not a disembodied soul. Not at all. It’s a perfect, glorified body. No more breast cancer. No more back pain. No more heart infections. Someday, we’ll be changed.

This also gives us hope for the creation. Jesus here is a picture of what’s to come. He’s the firstfruits of a creation that will one day be renewed. Romans 8 says that the whole creation groans with us, like a mom in childbirth, for its curse to be lifted. For it all to be renewed. Christ’s resurrection points to that day when He’ll return and raise everything.

That gives us hope, doesn’t it? No more earthquakes. No more tornadoes. Things won’t wear out, break, be polluted. Animals will surely be a part of it, too. Won’t that be awesome? Our hope isn’t to escape the material, to get out of this world, to get to some kind of heaven. The Christian vision is for a renewed creation. Our hope is that one day Christ will bring heaven down to earth.

We’re about to celebrate a Decade of Grace as a church, and it was Easter, ten years ago, when we started worshipping publicly. Why have I and Amy and others kept going? Through all the trials? The message is worth it.

But I haven’t died for it. Many of you have heard of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He’s known as the pastor who tried to take out Hitler.
Listen to what author Eric Metaxas says about this man.

Bonhoeffer believed the Easter story. He actually believed the extraordinary story of God's coming to Earth and dying and then rising from the dead to defeat death forever. He believed that because this was true, he need never fear death. All he needed to worry about was doing the right thing and trusting God with the results. And that he did.

Because Bonhoeffer believed these things he had the courage to do what almost no one else around him could do. He stood up for the Jews of Europe and today he is celebrated and cherished, while Hitler, who condemned him to death and who only believed in himself, is reviled as a monster.

For Bonhoeffer, and for the disciples, this message of Jesus gave them hope. And it was a message they were dying to share. That gave their lives purpose.

The Resurrection Gives Purpose

That’s another blessing I want you to see flowing from this resurrection. Second, the resurrection gives purpose. Maybe you feel like your life is meaningless. Maybe you feel like you’re going nowhere. You have nothing to live for. Or, maybe when you’re honest, what you live for doesn’t amount to much. The resurrection gives us something greater.

It gives the purpose of relieving suffering and fighting sin. Right now, we have a group from our church getting ready to serve in some of the hardest places. They’ll do ministry in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. They’ll visit a place called Crackland that will put all of them into tears. We have two former members, Eric Papp and Jessica Fleshman, who have given their lives to love the people there. This winter, Anna Hulbert traveled to Gabon to give needy people medical care. We have medical professionals right here loving people, healing people.

We’ve always had members helping unwed mothers, trying to get them to keep their babies. We have a number of families here adopting needy children. We have people fighting to end racism in our city.

These are things that Jesus did. So did the disciples, the early church. They met needs. They fought injustice. Why? Those things wouldn’t be there at the resurrection. Those believers knew they couldn’t eradicate sin and suffering, but they were fighting it all they could. That’s our purpose, as well.

It also gives the purpose of displaying and declaring what’s ahead. Take displaying first. Every hour we put into hard, excellent work, we give a glimpse of that new world. Every work of art that’s true, beautiful, and good, shows that renewed planet that’s ahead. Hear N.T. Wright on this:

“Every act of love, every deed done in Christ and by the Spirit, every work of true creativity – doing justice, making peace, healing families, resisting temptation, seeking and winning true freedom – is an earthly event in a long history of things that implement Jesus’s own resurrection and anticipate the final new creation and act as signposts of hope, pointing back to the first and on to the second.” (N.T. Wright)

Every time we worship. Every act of love. It all points to that day. But take declaring. We still have to talk about this. We don’t just point to it with our lives. We declare it with our mouths. We’ve also got two families heading over to Japan. There isn’t much poverty in Tokyo. But the Japanese are just as desperate for the resurrection. Our purpose is to tell people of this world without sin and suffering. We give this hope of bodies liberated from both. That’s our purpose.

Jesus commissions His disciples and us in verses 46 through 49. Listen to his words.

Luke 24:46 “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

We are to declare His death and resurrection. We’re to call people to respond to those truths. We’re to do it in the power of the Holy Spirit. What a purpose!

The Resurrection Provides Joy

The resurrection blesses us: with hope and with purpose. Here’s a third thing: the resurrection provides joy. Check the words following those we just read:

Luke 24:50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51 While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple blessing God.

Look at the transition of these men. From doubting and scoffing to rejoicing and blessing. Why? What are they so happy about? Where is there joy for us? One of my biggest personal battles over the last ten years is looking around and seeing things I want to fix, seeing things I think are wrong, and not finding joy in all I have. And there is so much.

Is that your struggle, too? The resurrection provides joy. It provides joy in a victorious king. Why are these guys so joyful? The King is alive! He has been vindicated by the empty tomb! He has defeated death - once for all! He will reign over His kingdom - forever!

Shouldn’t that give us joy? We get excited when “our guy” gets in office, but that will never give us joy. We see chaos all over the world. But still we know He’s ruling. That should give us joy.

He has ascended. He is ruling at the Father’s right hand. As a man. With a body. He will one day return, when His final resurrection will come. On that day, He’ll fully reign. Where He is right now. Where He’ll one day be. That vision should give us joy.

But the people of that day were hung up. They couldn’t understand Jesus. They had been waiting for a king. They just expected Him to reign through conquest. And they wanted His kingdom right then and there. They wanted Jesus to smash their enemies and put them in power.

That’s not to far from us, right? We want a ruler who will bring us back to the good ol’ days. Where we’re in charge. Right here, right now.

But slowly the disciples realized Jesus was a different sort of King. He would reign over a bigger kingdom. And one that would take some time to grow. A kingdom that would need them as ambassadors. One that would come about through the word and through prayer. And, first and foremost, through His cross.

The resurrection gives joy in another way. It provides joy in a suffering servant. The Book of Isaiah gives a picture of a king. But it also gives one of a servant. That’s what the disciples missed as they read their Bibles. This King would come and reign. But first, He would die.

Is. 53:3 He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Is. 53:4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
Is. 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
Is. 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

Did you catch that? “Pierced for our transgressions.” “Crushed for OUR iniquities.” All because of God’s plan. He was “stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” For that reason, we have peace, it says. We are healed, it says. And, through all of that, we have joy.

In verse 41 of Luke 24, the writer says this of the disciples as they were standing before the risen Jesus: “They disbelieved for joy.” Joy was right in front of their eyes. And they just couldn’t believe. It’s right in front of ours.

Why do we call it Good Friday? The servant King took our place. He bore our punishment. He brought us to God. That’s good. Joy!

What about Easter? Why such joy in the resurrection? The payment was received by the Father. It went through. It paid our debt. The Father is satisfied. We’re forgiven.

In verse 26, Jesus tells this to the guys on that road: “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and then enter into His glory?” It was. Suffering and glory. And we take joy in both. In His. And ours. The disciples were so enamored with this joy, that they gave it all. They held nothing back.

Friends, Jesus is alive. He is risen! That blesses us with hope, purpose, and joy.

Give Me Something to Believe In

But let’s not forget about where I began. It’s a cruel world. There are three ways we can turn. We can’t look inward. Jesus suffered for us. We’re a part of the problem in this world. We sin against others. We cause suffering ourselves. We can’t possibly do enough in our power to change the world. We certainly can’t do enough to impress God. That just makes things worse.

We can’t look outward. Not to condemn. What good does that accomplish? It just turns us more inward. Certainly not for some kind of solace. Reading online news will depress you really fast. So much sin and suffering. And no earthly king or kingdom will really help.

Looking inward and outward usually lead to one place. Self-medicating. Maybe substances. More likely, entertainment. We divert our minds. We amuse ourselves to death while death is all around us.

We have to look upward. And trust what He has done, as well what He’ll do. Jesus has risen from the dead. He is King. His kingdom has come in part. One day, He’ll return and it’ll come in full. He has dealt with sin and death on the cross. One day He’ll reverse it all at His return through His resurrection.

The tomb is empty! He is alive! What was prophesied has been fulfilled. We now have this great hope, purpose, and joy.

Now there is something you and I can believe in. But it’s so easy to doubt. The disciples eventually got it. Will we? But our Lord understands. He compassionately says these words to us in verse 38: “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” Fight off those doubts, friends. Beg Him for help. Believe.

He says, in verse 39, “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” Look on Him in faith, church. He is risen! He is risen indeed! Despite how it may seem, He is making all things new.

Church Planting Resident Billy Glosson finished up our "All In" series this past week. The audio and notes are below:
Let me start by saying something. I have a love/hate relationship with montages. For those of you who don’t know what a montage is, let me enlighten you. Its a technique in film were you use short shots edited into one sequence to condense space. This is the kid that has a big test and then you see several short scenes of the kid studying, being quizzed, figuring out a difficult problem and then it culminates in him going in to take the test. I always joke that Rocky 4 is the greatest Rocky and what I really mean is it has the greatest montage. If you’ve never seen this then here’s some homework look this up on youtube…you’re welcome. The 80s music hits…”hearts on fire”. We have Rocky out in the mountains running in the snow, using a cattle yolk as a weight, carrying a wagon. Meanwhile we have Drago (The Russian guy Rocky is going to fight) in the Russian techno gym with the most advanced 80s technology. Theres a scene where we see a zoomed in black and white picture of Drago on a mirror and then its removed by Rocky and crumbled in his hand as he stares in the mirror. That’s film making gold right there.

Now here is why montages are awesome - instant gratification. We see folks who are giving everything, they are all in. Be it Rocky getting ready for a fight, or Rod Kimble preparing for the biggest jump of his life. We see them working hard but it’s captured in a few minutes. In real life though this isn’t how it works. Investing, training, they don’t happen in snapshots. Thats usually the bulk of our time.

I think sometimes sermons can produce a montage mentality in our minds. We hear a sermon that captivates us, challenges us, in our head we have these snapshots of ourselves. We see ourselves loving our neighbors, spending time in the word, digging deep. Maybe we see ourself talking to our co-workers about Jesus. But when the rubber hits the road…it doesn't work in snap shots.

The last few weeks we’ve been talking about being all in. We started looking at the heart, then the family, Christ’s church. This morning we ask the question about the Mission. As we consider what it means to be all in, we consider the mission we’ve been called to. Christ left us with these words: “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

This commission demands all of us. Every aspect of us. This morning we are going to look at an example of two churches. A Macedonian church who faithfully meet a need, displaying the depth of their commitment to Christ and the mission. And the Corinthian church who is being challenged to follow their example. This morning my prayer is that you wouldn’t have montage moments, but rather you would be stirred toward obedience, to dedicating your life to the mission, to the upward call of Christ.

There is so much beauty and goodness in following Christ, in seeing his mission. This morning I want to zoom in on this: The Lord wants us to be overwhelmed by joy as we give ourself fully to the mission. Are you all in for the mission?

I want to challenge you to really consider the call this morning. There will be times when this sermon will stretch all of us. But the joy that’s before us is worth it. So let’s look at the passage and begin to break this down looking at two aspects of being All in.

All in with Abundant Joy

We spent the last several months in Acts looking at a church that grew rapidly due to their commitment to the mission. We saw story after story of men and women dedicated to seeing the gospel reach the ends of the earth. When we look at our passage here in 2 Corinthians there is no difference. We see a church all in for the mission of the gospel. Paul is writing to the Corinthian church regarding a difficult situation in Jerusalem, where the believers are in need to continue the mission faithfully. He starts by telling them the response of the Macedonian church toward this call to help the church in Jerusalem.

Their response is incredible. Look at vs. 2:

For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.

What is happening here? The Macedonians are poor. In fact Paul says they are in extreme poverty, yet they are giving faithfully!

There are two things that shocked me. The first is vs. 1. Paul calls the opportunity to help the church grace. In other words, giving money to help other Christians in need was itself the result of God’s grace. He provided both the resources and the willingness to use them. The second is v. 4 “begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints.” The Macedonian church, in poverty themselves, are begging Paul to let them contribute to the Jerusalem church.

What is it that motivates this type of reaction to the call to give? Abundant Joy. Admittedly I need to hear this as much as anyone this morning.

Throughout our time in Acts I walked away so moved to seek boldness, to give myself fully to the mission, and I think this text beautifully reminds me of the fuel for gospel advancement. What fuels you to go all in for the mission of the gospel? Is it not the gospel itself and the abundant joy it produces?!

Let’s stop here for a moment. These Macedonians are showing tremendous love for the Jerusalem church, they aren’t just giving, they are begging Paul to give. It wasn’t out of some begrudging submission to a church leader, a moral right, a duty…no this was pure delight. The Macedonians are all in. They are so overwhelmed by the joy of Christ that they want to see the church thrive! They want to see the gospel advance, and they will give whatever it takes to see it happen. Karis, are we so overwhelmed by the grace of God, so full of joy that the overflow of our life is evidence of that?

Look at vs. 5, “and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.” Something unexpected happened. In response to the news that the church in Jerusalem needs help, they rededicated their lives to serving the Lord, and then to the need Paul presented as God’s servants. I have never personally been indignant at the call to give, be it of time, gifts, or resources. But, I confess, I have been indifferent. At he beginning of this All In series we zoomed in on the heart, what are we investing ourselves in. Then we zoomed out to our family, are we humbling ourselves, are we using our gifts, this morning we look at the mission, our call to take the gospel to the world. We are called to give everything to it. My hope is that we would respond like the Macedonians we would overflow with joy and rededicate our lives to God, and in so doing give ourselves to the mission. Ask yourself are you indifferent? Are you bored? Do you feel stuck?

There is rich joy in Christ, overwhelming abundant joy. A joy that overflows to every aspect of life. A few weeks ago I mentioned my love for hymns. Part of my love for hymns grew when I was in college. I preached at a small country church in Winigan, MO. There was a man named Gail that lead us in hymns every week. Gail sang so loud and so boisterously that I can still his voice almost any time I sing or hear hymns. Gail was a character. He was a war vet and a cattle farmer. He was missing a leg. But he is also perhaps the most joy filled person I’ve ever meet. He opened his home continually to me and others, he went above and beyond any time there was need in the community. He wept when he recounted the gospel. He gave above and beyond to many missionaries. This is the guy who personally loaded my car on his trailer and made sure it was fixed properly. He didn’t just serve me he did this for the whole town. I remember meeting with the Elders of this small church to talk about the future of the church and the reality that a new facility needed to be built in order to meet ADA regulations. Gail’s constant concern was not money, or budget, but gospel. Will this advance the mission? How will we fulfill the great commission. He was willing to offer his services to digging a foundation, building, etc. To make certain that money still went to missionaries. When I left Winigan to attend Karis full time. Gail embraced me and prayed for me. I joked with him and asked how he was so happy. He looked at me with tears and said, “Because I know the Lord, stay as close to God as you can and you’ll never lack a reason to smile.” Dude was cheesy, but so right. Man what a blessing he is. What about you?

Is your heart ravished by the gospel? Are you consumed with love for the Lord? Have you given yourself first to the Lord and then to His mission? There is abundant joy when you’re all in, it leads to a constant reason for praise. When we consider the mission before us, to take the gospel to then ends of the earth, it’s a weighty call. It’s easy to see why we get beat up and apathetic. When we fix our eyes off Christ we begin to give ourselves to other things. Things that rob our attention, our focus.

Kevin asked us a few weeks ago what we were investing in, what do we trust in? Karis, if we are not rooted in Christ our joy will be temporary at best.

When Macedonians—poverty stricken Macedonians—beg Paul for the privilege of giving money to a church in need, it’s because they want to. To be sure, they are denying themselves whatever food and clothing that money might have bought them, but their self-denial is not for the sake of some sterile, joyless act of duty. They are giving up the pleasure of extra food for the joy of sharing God's grace with others. These people are so full of joy in God that giving—even out of poverty—is not a burden but a blessing. They have discovered the truth that love is the overflow of “joy in God”, which meets the needs of others.

As we talk about being All In we consider the abundant joy of the Macedonians, they were anchored in the gospel and sought to be all in for the mission before them. Paul starts here with the Corinthian church. He encourages them to see the Macedonian church as the example. We too would do well to consider a church so given to the missions, so consumed by the gospel that their overflow of joy results in sacrificial service.

Paul then shifts the focus to the Corinthian church. So we start with the example and challenge to be all in with abundant joy in Christ. Now let’s look at see how we are to be.

All In With Radical Generosity

Let’s look back at the passage vs. 8-9

I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

I fill like I could sit down now. There is a wealth of truth here. There are men, Paul calls them “False apostles” who are deceiving the church and dividing them. Men who are distorting the scriptures, seeking to drown out Pauls voice. The “false apostles” at Corinth are able to achieve their goals only by using a heavy hand with the Corinthian church. They “use their authority” to get the results they want.

Paul is not this way. He does not want to resort to his authority as the basis for the Corinthians’ giving. Again this produces contrite begrudging submission in giving. Paul makes it clear that he is not commanding them to give, but rather encouraging them to give as a proof of their love. Paul seems to be saying that the Macedonians have demonstrated the sincerity of their love by the sacrificial generosity of their gift to the needy saints in Jerusalem. That establishes a kind of human benchmark against which the Corinthians’ love can be measured. A way in which they showcase they are all in for the mission of Christ. The earnestness of the Macedonians helps set the standard by which the Corinthians may prove the sincerity of their love.

There is, however, a much higher standard than this. That’s what we see in vs. 9. The human benchmark of the Macedonians’ love and generosity is far surpassed by the divine benchmark for love and sacrifice to those in need. The ultimate example of gracious giving is Jesus Christ, by His sacrificial atoning work on the cross of Calvary. He was infinitely “rich” in the presence of His Father. He willingly “became poor” in His incarnation. He was born in a very humble setting, having a cattle trough as a bed, and being born to parents who were far from rich. He left the “wealth” of heaven and took on the “poverty” of this earth in His incarnation. He who was rich became poor for the sake of those of us who were spiritually “bankrupt” in our sins. Through faith in His sacrificial work on the Cross of Calvary, He has made all those who trust in Him exceedingly rich.

Whatever we might do for those who are poor can never compare with the work of Christ on the cross. Our material wealth can never compare to His heavenly glory; and our sacrificial poverty can never compare to the “poverty” He endured in His incarnation. The person and work of Christ is the basis for our motivation, and it is the standard for our ministry. The cross of Christ, that message which seems foolish to the unbelieving, and certainly to the unbelieving “false apostles” here in Corinth, is the unending theme of all of Paul’s teaching. As he can never speak enough of the cross, we too should never hear enough of the cross of Christ.

This Karis is what it means to be all in for the mission. Because of Christ’s sacrificial love we have abundant joy. In the same way he showed us radical generosity and we extend that to others. So why do we spend time camping out in passages like this that make us uncomfortable that take an extensive look at giving? Because we’ve been given so much in Christ, if we are to give of ourselves, if we’re to be all in for the sake of Christ than that means all of us. Paul reminds us of all that Jesus has done. From this he showcases what we are to do. To give like Christ.

Now, as we continue to dig in this passage I think when hear all in we may have a few different things floating in our heads. When we see the Macedonian church, the challenge to the Corinthians and the example of Christ this is how we can consider what it means to be all in as we give:

What do we give:

We’ve been given resources to steward for the glory of God. Means by which we can bless one another and advance the kingdom. We talk about seeing giving towards the mission of God as more than just digging in our wallets, though it is that. Time, Talent, and Treasure.

We give of our ourself, our time. This is serving here during the gathering, serving alongside of our missional communities. Serving needs within the body. We give of our time.

Talent. God has uniquely equipped and gifted each of us. Wether you're a gifted writer, musician, or you have an incredibly positive attitude doing the little, yet incredibly important things. Using these abilities to help serve the church and serve the community for the sake of Christ this is how give of our talents.

Treasure. This is of course our finances, the money God has given us to steward. We give to advance the mission of the church. We give to the destitute and hurting. To see gospel advance.

A big part though is in the how. How do we give?

Sacrificial. We shouldn’t just give of our excess. We should give until it impacts our lifestyle. Whether we’re talking about time, talent, or treasure.

Primary. We have a commitment to our brothers and sisters around us with those three things. We can give to other things, we can serve in other ways, but we can’t neglect our responsibilities.

Systematic. We can’t just give randomly or haphazardly. Our church family should be able to depend on us. Time, talent, or treasure. We should grow in responsibility. We should strive to be dependable.

Cheerful. Of course, that’s not easy - just like with each of these. But we should pray for a heart that wants to share our time, talent, and treasure.

The how Karis, is fueled by seeing the sacrificial love of Jesus. When we consider him, who became poor for our sake, who gave everything for us, it changes the way we give.

Look back at the text in vs. 10-11

And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have.

A year before the writing of 2 Corinthians, the Corinthian Christians had begun to put money aside, though it seems they had now become slack and irregular. A lot of us make resolutions or bold statements. We commit to things and then fail to back it up. Be it time or money we talked a big game and we’ve slacked.

Let me say this, there is grace and mercy. I want to pause for a minute to flesh this out. The past way I’ve heard this explained is like this. Both Satan and the Holy Spirit will point out your sin. But they do so in entirely different ways and for entirely different purposes. I’ve heard it said like this: Satan starts with what you did, and tears down who you are. The Holy Spirit starts with what Christ has declared over you, and helps you rebuild what you did. Satan beats us down with our failures. Jesus calls us up into our identity.

Jesus starts with the perfect state He has purchased for us by His death and uses the power of His resurrection to bring us into conformity with it. Each day Jesus says to us, “You are My beloved child. I am well pleased in you. Now live that way.” Satan, on the other hand, says, “Look at you. Look at the condition of your circumstances. Look at how poorly you’re living. There is no way you are God’s beloved child.” Which voice are you going to believe? There’s an eternity of difference between them.

Paul points out to the Corinthian church what they are lacking. But he doesn’t leave them to wallow in their filth, no he starts by reminding them in vs. 9 what Christ accomplished for them and then in v. 11 calls them to finish what they’ve started.

This morning as we talk about being all in. Remember Christ, all that he has accomplished, he has called you sons and daughters, live that way, finish what you’ve started. The later part of our passage alludes to the fact that Paul isn’t asking anything unreasonable for the Corinthians. He’s not asking for unnecessary suffering or burdens, Paul is calling the church to be faithful as they contribute.

I want to stop here for a moment. All that we’ve consider from what and how we give, finishing what we start. I want us to really spend time pondering vs. 9. Several folks want to sprint to the end of the passage and sigh and say, see we don’t have to do too much. I think this is the wrong mentality entirely.

We consider vs. 9

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

All of this discussion of being all in, is wrapped up in this concept. Abundant joy. Radical generosity. It’s because of Jesus. Our example, the Macedonians, They treasured Christ above money. They treasured Christ in affliction above security and comfort. And the effect of this treasuring Christ was abundant joy and overflowing generosity—or simply, love. Christ left the riches of heaven and died for them. Grace revealed Christ, forgiving their sins and opening everlasting fellowship with God. Treasuring this gift above all, they exploded with joy. And that abundant joy in poverty and pain overflowed in love for the relief of the saints.

This morning as you consider the gospel of Christ. Ask yourself. Am all in? Look at where you spend you time, talent and treasure. Are you giving sacrificially like Christ gave his live for you? Have you failed to give primarily like the corinthians, do you give sporadically of your resources? Most of all is your giving cheerful?

Both of my points are rooted in this idea. Are we all in? If it’s out of begrudging submission I’d challenge that you’re all in. Maybe you are but for bad motives.

Christ came to gather a people—specifically, to gather a people in allegiance to himself for the glory of his Father—by dying to save them from their sins and to give them eternal life and a new ethic of love like his. Therefore, when he demands that we follow him, he means that we join him in that task of gathering: Luke 11:23 “Whoever does not gather with me scatters”. There are no neutral followers; we either scatter or gather. Following Jesus means continuing the work he came to do—gathering a people in allegiance to him for the glory of his Father. Are you all in for that. Are you giving all that you have to see God be made much of? Are you overflowing with abundant joy? Are you radically generous?

The Lord wants us to be overwhelmed by joy as we give ourself fully to the mission. Karis we are called to be all in for the mission. Seeing the gospel and being overwhelmed by the joy that comes from knowing Him, we give ourselves to advance the kingdom.

This morning I ask the question how much is Jesus worth? Where does he come in your scale of desires? Jesus told a parable one time that describes how precious it really is to inherit the kingdom of heaven. And since he himself is the king of that kingdom and the one who makes it valuable, the parable applies to him too. He said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." Notice this: the man does not sell all that he has begrudgingly; he does it joyfully. The reason is because he sees how precious the treasure is. He knows that, whatever he pays for that field, it's a steal. Jesus is worth so much more than anything else in all the world, that every loss endured to have more of him can be endured with joy.

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:7-8)

The mark of a saint, a child of God, is not that we have attained or are perfect, but that we long for Christ, we thirst like hungry babies for his Word and fellowship and power. No Christian is satisfied with his present condition. We are hungry, and the more we taste, the hungrier we get for Jesus. His value does not diminish with time—it increases.

And the better we know him, the more we love him. And when we finally enter into his presence with rejoicing, our endless song will be, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing." Your mouth is always full of praises for what you value most. "To you who believe, he is precious."

When we talk about abundant joy and extravagant generosity do you see that in your life?

As we’ve talked about being all in these last three weeks we’ve asked a lot of questions. Where are you invested, who do you trust? Are you humbling yourself? Are you using your gifts.

At times it can feel like so much is required of you. It can seem like the church is rather demanding, it doesn’t really seem like good news.

The reality is we’re saying these things, asking these questions because so many of us are hearing false promises and buying in. Whether it’s investing in broken idols, things that fail. Or presuming the church is here to meet your comforts, and finding yourself constantly disappointed. Or thinking that to really prove your dedication to Christ you have to give in such a way that hurts, all the while you’re fighting being frustrated and giving out of compulsion.

Karis, I have amazing good news. There is one worth investing in, one who never fails. He has called you to a church, to his kingdom. There are broken people who needed to be reminded of His amazingly good grace

He wants to fill you with abundant joy, not temporary pleasure, but a deep rooted satisfaction in his Character. He wants you to overflow with joy that leads to generosity. To see that Giving isn’t a begrudging task that is part of Christianity it is evidence of the resurrection hope.

Again this isn’t just a money issue, it’s an all of life issue, a call to give everything you have to bring glory to this one who has made all things new.

Here's my sermon from Sunday, the second in our short, "All In" series.

Soon we’ll jump into the book of Ephesians, but today we’re in our second of three weeks in a series we’ve called “All In.” Are you “all in” for the family of God? That’s the question I want us to consider this morning. Are you “all in” for his church?

If you looked at a father or mother, how would you determine if they were all in for their family? Maybe you’re considering them for a position of church leadership. You know how they handle their family is important. How could you tell if they were doing it well? How could you tell if they were all in?

You might look at how they spent their time, right? I’m not just talking “quality time.” Of course, time can’t be spent just staring at our phones. It should be of quality. But commitment means that you’re around, right? It’s also got to be quantity. If you say you’re “all in” for your family, you’ve at least got to be around. That shows where your priorities lie.

You would look at how they spent their talent, their gifts. If someone is gifted at teaching or serving, you’d expect they’d use those gifts at home, right? Otherwise, you’d question their commitment. But wouldn’t you expect a good dad or a devoted mom to just help out however needed? Washing the dishes. Taking out the trash. Helping with homework. Those things have to be done. You’re not going to say, “Honey, that’s just not my gift. You cover it.”

It would also make sense to look at how they spent their treasure, their money. You’d look to see if they were providing for their family. You’d expect that they’d work hard. They’d use their earnings well - to care for and bless the household. A good parent isn’t going to squander away the rent money. They’re going to make sure their family is well taken care of.

Parents, or family members, who are committed to their families demonstrate it through their time, talent, and treasure. Now you probably know where this is going. You’re a part of a family, a household. Ephesians 2:19 says, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” We’re all a part of this household. Not just the leaders. All of us. And we’re all called to do our part. With our time, our talent, and our treasure. Here’s the big idea for today: the Lord wants us to invest ourselves fully in loving His church. In other words, He wants us to be all in for the family.

Some of you aren’t all in, but you might say you don’t care. Now most people who don’t care likely aren’t here. But there are many today who say they love Jesus but don’t care much for His church. But how can you care about Jesus and not love something that He deeply loves? Something, in fact, that He died for.

Some of you would say that you care, but you don’t act like it. You don’t look “all in.” Your time, talent, and treasure don’t go to the family God. I want challenge you today. But I also want to encourage all those who are “all in” to keep going. The Lord wants us to invest ourselves fully in loving His church.

In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul spends the first eleven chapters laying out the hope we have in the gospel. And it’s glorious. But in Romans 12, there is a shift. Paul turns from indicatives to imperatives. He shifts from telling us what God has done to telling us what God wants us to do. He moves to telling us how to live it all out in gratitude. Notice what comes right before the passage we’re looking at today. Listen to Romans 12:1-2.

Rom. 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Because of the “mercies of God”in the gospel of Jesus, we’re to give our whole lives to Him in worship. We’re no longer to get squeezed into the world’s mold. We’re to be transformed. We’re to have our minds renewed. That way we’ll know how God wants us to navigate the world. We’ll know what’s “good and acceptable and perfect.”

That’s how the apostle starts out the application section of this book. But notice where he turns next. Paul says, use your gifts in the body of Christ. That’s his first point of application. You see, this is no small matter. It’s not like you can call Jesus your Savior and then take or leave His family. Being a part of a local church. Using your gifts to serve that church. That’s central to what it means to be a Christian.

Here in verses 3 through 8, Paul, inspired by God, gives us two commands. Sandwiched between those two commands is the reason for both. Paul says, humble your heart and use your gifts, because you’re a part of a unified, diverse family.

Humble Your Heart

Let’s start with the first command. Humble your heart. A transformed believer with a renewed mind sees himself or herself humbly. Listen to verse 3 again:

Rom. 12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

The Lord says, “Humble your heart” here. Paul starts by saying, “for by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you.” He appeals to his apostleship. He says quite strongly, “Humble yourself.”Now, as I’ve pondered and prayed over this passage, three lies come to mind that keep us from living “all in” for God’s family.

Lie number one: “I’m greatly gifted in this way, and I’m certainly too good for that.” Rapper L.L. Cool J once told us, “I gotta thank God, cuz he gave me the strength to rock hard.” That’s how we tend to view ourselves. God has gifted me. I’m great at my gift. And I’m better than them and that over there.

Here’s lie number two: “I’ll use my gift to shine now, or I’m out.” We not only think we have a gift. We deserve to have it recognized. We have to use that gift now. We’re not too patient these days. We see this so clearly in college sports. Everyone has his sight on the pros. If they don’t get playing time and aren’t starring as a freshman, most players look to transfer. I want it all. I want it now.

Here’s lie number three: “I don’t need anyone’s help.” We think we can do it on our own - on the basketball court or anywhere in life. We’ve got enough gifts. We don’t need theirs. We don’t really think about them needing us.

In his great book, 9 Marks of a Healthy Church, Mark Dever tells the story of a conversation he had one Sunday with a college ministry worker. The guy would slip in right after the music, would listen to the sermon, and then bolt. Dever caught him one time and asked him why. The guy responded, “Well, I don’t get anything out of the rest of it.” Dever said back, “Have you ever thought about joining the church?” The man scoffed at the idea. He said, “Why would I join the church? If I join them, I think they would just slow me down spiritually.” To that, Dever responded:

Have you ever considered that maybe God wants you to link arms with those other people, and that perhaps even though they might slow you down a little, you might help to speed them up—and that’s a part of God’s plan for how we’re supposed to live as Christians together?” (Mark Dever)

Now maybe it’s true that others would have slowed him down a little, but he no doubt was thinking too highly of himself. That’s what Paul warns about here

He commands each believer to “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment.” The Lord says first, humbly assess your gifting. He speaks to our tendency to proudly assess our gifts. He calls out our general lack of self-awareness that flows from sin. We laugh at the expelled auditioners on American Idol - those that flip off the camera and hurl cuss words at the judges. But they look like you and me. We think we’re awesome, and no one is going to tell us otherwise. Paul says, don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. Humbly assess yourself.

But he also says, “Think with sober judgment.” If you’ve ever been around a drunk person, two things are generally the case. They’re in no way humble. They overassess their abilities. Right? They stick their chest out. They swing punches at people twice their size. Believer, don’t act drunk. That’s what God says here. You’re not that awesome. Use your head a little.

That’s the main characteristic of a drunk person, right? He’s lost his mind. Paul in the original language here goes out of his way to tell us to use our heads. He uses a form of the word “think” four times here. Get in the right frame of mind. Humbly assess your gifts. Don’t believe that lie.

You’re not that gifted. You’re not as big as you think. You’re certainly not too good for little things. We’re all egoholics by nature, and in God’s grace, we’ve got to fight against that. If you want to be a healthy part of a local church - that is, if you want to be a healthy Christian, you’ve got to humbly assess your gifts.

The more we mature, the better we’re able to do this. As we grow as believers, our perspective grows, also. That leads to my next point. Second, God says, humbly consider your maturity.Here Paul speaks to our tendency toward impatience. We’re to think of ourselves, says verse 3 again, “according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” Now, as you might expect, the meaning of those words has been misunderstood and debated.

But I think the best understanding of them is this: we each find ourselves at certain times at certain places in our faith. We have to humbly assess where we’re at in our walk with Christ. What am I saying? Well, you may have the gift of teaching. You may be a gifted leader. But you just may need some more maturing before you get thrust into a primary role. You may need to be patient, buy your time, show yourself faithful in the little things, and trust the Lord.

Trust is important because we’re where we are because of Him. It speaks of the measure of faith “that God has assigned.” We have to wrestle with where God has us in our growth at that time. We also have to trust that He’ll have us in the right place. Don’t believe that other lie. That you must use that gift right now, or you’re in the wrong place, and you need to leave. Maybe you think you’re ready. You’re likely not. But if you are being overlooked, make no mistake. God’s still in control. He’ll use this trial to grow you even more.

We overassess our maturity just like our gifting. I’ll never forget the first sermon I delivered back while I was, I think, a junior in college. I just knew it was God’s call on my life. And I was confident I was ready. But I droned on and on for at least an hour before a bunch of people with blank, confused stares on their faces. I thought, “This is much harder than I thought. I have no idea what I’m doing.” We should be thankful God doesn’t let us get exposed more often. Believer, you must also humbly consider your maturity.

Church, we have to humble ourselves. Now, as I said, the reason for this point, as well as the second one we’re going to see, is found in verses 4 and 5.

Rom. 12:4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

You Need the Body

Why humbly assess your gifting? Why humbly consider your maturity? God says, you need to humbly remember your need for the body of Christ.Here the metaphor isn’t a family. It’s a body. As our human body has lots of “members” or parts, and they all perform different functions, it’s the same way in Christ’s body. There are many of us. We all belong to each another.

What’s the point here? Paul’s talking about the unity of the body. We all come together around Christ’s body broken for us. He’s also talking about the diversity of the body. We’re all hands or feet or eyes or ears in the body He’s remaking. And here’s the point: you need that diversity - no matter how gifted or mature you think you are. You may think you can be a nose and a forearm and a knee - all by yourself. But you can’t. And you’ll drive yourself crazy trying.

We’ll be telling a lot of stories today in the Members’ Meeting, as well as during our Decade of Grace celebration this spring. Things have always come slowly with Karis - a thing that I think has contributed to our health. But regardless, slow isn’t always easy. One day Amy looked around and decided she wanted to speed things up. She took it upon herself to get the church growing faster. She planned this women’s event. She and another lady spent all this time planning this craft, making the food. She had all these people say they’d come. Of course, she was just getting used to the pleasantries that people give pastors and their wives. “Oh, yes, I’ll for sure be there.” But nobody came. Only Amy and this other girl. She proudly threw her gifts at the problem. The Lord humbled her. We can’t do it all on our own. You and I need to humbly remember our need for the body of Christ.

Well, what about you? Do you see this need? If you recognize some pride, what can you do to change? Or how can you guard yourself against getting a big head? Here’s the first thing I’d say. Throw yourself into that community, into that body, into that family.

As Dan Allender has written, “You can’t see your own face.” You can’t. You might argue that you can in a mirror. But the problem is that you too much like what you see. And due to our sin, it’s more like a carnival mirror, but the opposite. It distorts us, but makes us look better. You need the body of Christ to help you see yourself rightly. You need people around you to help you assess your gifts. And to help you grow in them. You need brothers and sisters to help you measure your maturity. And to help you grow more mature. And this is a hard but very good thing. See, I can see my face when I’m with you. But I love it. But I love it.

Let me give you another way to work against this arrogance in our hearts. I know not everyone will agree with him, but I think David Brooks of the New York Times is a fantastic writer and a prophetic voice in our generation. Back a few years ago, he wrote this challenging article at the end of May, right after all our graduation ceremonies entitled, “It’s Not About You.” Graduates are all told, he writes, “Follow your passion, chart your own course, march to the beat of your own drummer, follow your dreams and find yourself.

Brooks argues that “this mantra misleads on nearly every front.” He mocks this inward journey that rarely ever leads to discovery. He writes, “Most successful young people don’t look inside and then plan a life. They look outside and find a problem, which summons their life.” “Most people don’t form a self and then lead a life. They are called by a problem, and the self is constructed gradually by their calling.” He finishes up by saying, “The purpose in life is not to find yourself. It’s to lose yourself.”

How do we change our proud hearts? Not by somehow discovering them. Not by following them. That’ll lead us astray. Look around. See the needs. Throw yourselves at them. In little ways. In humble ways. Serve. You’ll be surprised how easily you discover your gifts. And you’ll appreciate the gifts you see around you. Throw yourselves into the community. Wash the feet of that community, and let them wash yours. Those two things will help you humble your heart.

Use Your Gifts

Let’s move on to the second command Paul gives: use your gifts. How does someone who “gets” the gospel live? What does it look to “present yourselves as a living sacrifice”? Realize “it’s not all about you.” Get in a local body of believers and use your gifts.

There are three other lies that I’m convinced keep us from being “all in” for the family. Lie number one: “I’m nothing special, and just don’t have much to offer.” Our problem isn’t just that we’re arrogant. Most of us wrestle with thinking we’re worth much at all. We weep at our lack of skills. We compare ourselves to others and feel even worse.

Here’s another lie, number two: “I can’t possibly serve. Now’s not the right time.” Maybe we convince ourselves that we’re not mature enough. We’ll wait until we’ve more fully grown. Or we try to convince others that we don’t have time. I’ve got too much work. I’m still a student. We have small kids right now. Whatever it is, we buy into this idea that we’re in the wrong phase of life.

Here’s a third lie. Number three: “I can get away without serving, as I’m not really needed.” People with your gifts are already serving. Your gifts are really not that important. The church can do without you. That’s what you convince yourself. Maybe you really feel that way. Maybe it’s just an excuse - just like all these other lies I’ve mentioned. But it’s a common lie we can easily believe that keeps us from being all in.

Rom. 12:6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Recently an old friend reached out to us over Facebook. We knew him back in our days in Springfield. I played on the music team with my church back there. This guy, named Adam, would show up joyfully and set up for the band. He’d set up all my guitar pedals. He’s have me all plugged in and ready to go. All I had to do was show up. My sister was dating a guy at the time who was in a really well known Christian rock band. He’d call her sometimes at 2 a.m. and they’d chat. He’d do this after he spent hours tearing down from his shows. Here he was in the real band. I was playing in an ordinary church. I was treated like the rock star. Now my friend probably wouldn’t have said he was that gifted. Others might have thought he was a little crazy. But Adam sure served the body. He still does. For awhile I thought he was going to move up here, and I got excited.

Use your gifts, Christian. Like Adam. Use them first believing God has gifted you.Catch what Paul says in verse 6 again: “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us.”Do you believe this applies to you? Now I think the main point of verse 3 is to undercut pride. That’s our default mode. We think too highly of ourselves. But sometimes we think too lowly of ourselves, too. This doesn’t just tell us not to think our gifts are great. It commands us not to think our gifts are lame. Or non-existent. Each of us has at least one gift to offer the body. Each of us has a spiritual gift. What’s a spiritual gift? It differs from an ability or skill in that it comes from the Holy Spirit. It’s supernatural. It’s given to us to advance the kingdom.

Did you hear that? It’s given to us. They “differ according to the grace given to us.” They come from God. The same Lord who called Paul to be an apostle - that’s verse 3 - also gifts us. They come by His grace. There’s the word karis right there. Everything - including spiritual gifts - come by His grace. But that Greek word is also within the word “gift” itself. The word is karisma. Grace gifts. They come from Him. From His grace. When you think about it, we’re not just thinking lowly of ourselves. We’re really thinking too lowly of God. Of God in us. Don’t believe that lie that you’ve got nothing to offer. You have a special place in God’s family. Use your gifts trusting He has gifted you.

Second, use them wherever God places you. Verse 6 again: “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.” The Lord wants us to use our gifts and not sit on them. No matter where we are.

Now this may disappoint you, but I’m not going to break down this list today. We’ll save that for another time. That’s because the list is representative, not exhaustive. In other words, they’re just examples. You can look over in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4 and 1 Peter 4 if you want to see some more. Here we see both speaking gifts - that may be considered more sexy, and serving gifts - that may get ignored. My point today is that we’re gifted by God and positioned in His church by Him to use those gifts. Many people want to debate the ones they don’t understand instead of actually experimenting with the ones they do understand. But most people do nothing because they say they’re too busy.

Is that you? Think you’re busy? We all are. But all of us make time for what’s most important, right? And using your gifts in the family is as basic and as important as it gets.

Are you in a tough stage of life? I get that. I once preached a sermon the day or two after one of our kids was born. That probably wasn’t the best idea. But most of us have a series of cards that we play throughout our life. The “I can’t serve, I’m a student” card. Or the “I’m too busy, I’ve got kids” card. Maybe it’s the “catch me after my busy time of the year” card. There are more of them. Sometimes they’re excuses we make, but most of the time they’re lies we believe. But Paul here doesn’t say, “Serve. That is, unless you’re in a busy spell.” We’re always waiting for the next life stage when things will free up and get easier. But hear me when I say this: that’s not going to come. You’ll always be busy. And you’ll always choose what’s important to you. There’s always another stage after the one you’re in now. And it’s almost certainly not one with three hour breaks and four day weekends.

Life is lived, it’s truly spent, during all of these phases. So many people are going to look back and say that it’s been wasted. It hasn’t been used on what’s most important. Don’t believe the lie that it’s the wrong time to serve. Use your gifts wherever He places you.

The Body Needs You

We’re to use our gifts. Humble your heart. Use your gifts. That’s what God tells us here. Again, the reason for both commands is found right in between, in verses 4 and 5. Why should we use our gifts? God says, you must use them knowing He has a place for you.Hear verses 4 and 5 again:

Rom. 12:4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Yes, you need the body. But don’t forget the body needs you. It’s true. We’re a part of the same body. But each of us is a body part that has a different function. God calls us to unity but not uniformity. We have diverse gifts. Each of them is needed. And that includes yours. Don’t say, “Well, I’m the appendix.” “I’m the armpit.” “I’m the colon.” That turns the metaphor on its head. Maybe you won’t be in the limelight. That’s more of a blessing than you may realize. But you’re still important. You’re truly needed.

All the gifts are there, it says in 1 Corinthians 12, for the “common good.” They build up the family. They further the family’s mission. Again, you’re gifted by God. You’re placed where you are by Him. Don’t buy into the lie that you’re not needed. Don’t insult His design. Don’t question His providence. You don’t just need the body. The body needs you. Don’t just sit there. Do something.

Whenever anyone needs help, Dave Easton always shows up and serves. His wife Caryl is the same way. She met this elderly lady in the First Ward through their MC. She takes Lily out once a week to run errands and to get her hair done. You may not know Kevin Teeter. He’s not loud and obnoxious like me. But he’s over here working on projects all the time. He serves others every chance he gets. His wife Alex teaches basketball to inner-city kids every Tuesday afternoon. She and Gordy Bryan serve there together. This is what I’m talking about. The Lord has gifted you. Use those gifts. Wherever you are. The body of Christ needs you.

What do verses 4 and 5 teach? Why should we humble ourselves? Why should we use our gifts? You need the body of Christ. The body of Christ needs you. As Arthur Pierson writes,

“Everyone has some gifts, therefore all should be encouraged. Nobody has all the gifts, therefore all should be humble. All gifts are from the Lord, therefore all should be contented." (Arthur T. Pierson)

Now you might be asking. Well, how do I determine my gifts? Should I take one of those inventories? Help me! Now I’m not a big fan of those. They end up as self-fulfilling prophecies. If we have more than four brain cells, we can make the results end up exactly as we want.

My counsel here almost mirrors what I gave for seeking after humility. First, jump in there and try stuff. Second, discern your gifting in community. See what’s needed around you. Seemingly insignificant things are fine. Starting small is ok. Ask where you can help and try to meet needs. More often than not the needs will come to you. And your gifts will become more and more apparent.

And ask those around you. Ask the body. What do you think I’m good at? Do you think I’m a teacher, or not? In what areas do you think I’m the most effective? Sometimes they’ll tell you what you don’t want to hear. But that’s what a good family does. The members love each other. Even in tough ways. Right?

Love the Body

I mentioned the context before these verses. Look at what comes after.

Rom. 12:9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Love one another genuinely and affectionately. Have a competition: see who can give whom the most honor. Do everything you can to meet each other’s needs. There are a lot of other things there and in the passage following. But the emphasis is simple and no surprise. Don’t just offer your whole life to God. Don’t just love Him. Give yourself for others. Love those around you.

Does that describe your life? Are you “all in” for the family? More specifically, are you “all in” for a local body of believers? Or do you just love people in general.?That’s perhaps the biggest lie we can buy into - that it’s ok to somehow love Christians in general but never actually lock arms with a specific group of people that annoys you and offends you.

That’s why we emphasize membership in Karis Church so much. This love we’re meant to have and show isn’t meant to be abstract. It’s mean to be lived out among actual people who are committed to us, and us to them. We’re to serve and be served by real people. People whose heads sometimes seem full of concrete.

This is a call away from consumerism. That’s how most of us approach the church today. They’re consumers. Of course, churches have catered to them, and have perpetuated it. But the Lord wants to call us beyond that. We’re contributors. Producers. Using our time, talent, and treasure for the family of God. The Bible has no category for a Christian that doesn’t live in this way. Humble yourself. Use your gifts.

If this isn’t you, I call you toward change today. Repent. Ask the Lord to help you. Reach out to someone around you. Cry and pray on their shoulders.

If you’re seeking to live in this way, keep going. Give glory to God. Be encouraged by these words from 1 Corinthians 15:58.

1 Cor. 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

In sum, Karis, let’s humble our hearts. Let’s use our gifts. You need the Body. The Body needs you. The Lord wants us to invest ourselves fully in loving His church. Let’s help each other do that. Let’s be “all in” for the family.

Here's my sermon from this past Sunday, January 24th. It's the first in our three-part mini-series, "All In."

Are you “all in”? All in for Jesus? All in for His church? Are you? How do you know? Well, you could look at three things.

You could evaluate your time. If you tracked your hours, what would most of them be devoted to? What about your free time? How do you use those hours or minutes?

You could look at your talent. Think about your gifts, your abilities, your strengths. We all have those. You do. How are those primarily used? For Him? Or for something else?

You could also consider your treasure. Your money. Where does most of that go? What would someone say if they looked at your bank account? If you ever came upon some extra money, how would you use that?

Time, talent, treasure. We could examine each of those areas to see if we’re “all in” for Jesus and His church. Right? What would we find if we did? A presidential election is around the corner and there’s a lot of talk about capturing the Christian voter. Candidates are getting up front, talking about God, citing Scripture. They’re claiming to be Christians. Now, I’m not God. I, of course, don’t know for sure. But if you look at their lives, you might just see the opposite. I’m not just talking about sins. We all go astray. I’m talking about priorities. If you and I were accused of being Christians, would there be enough evidence to convict us? Could they point to our time, talent, and treasure, and say, “Yeah, that person is ‘all in’ for Jesus”?

Now that’s one way we can find out. But I want to take it another direction. I want us to look at our hearts today. If you walked into Dr. Freeman’s office this week and said you were hurting all over, he could give you an exam, but he could only find out so much. He might want to give you some blood tests. He might want to take an x-ray. That’s where I want to go this morning. What’s going on inside us? I don’t just want to look at the fruit - what we can see on the inside. I want to look at the root. What’s up with us there? What’s going on down deep? Matthew 6:19-34, one of the best-known passages in Christ’s most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, presents us with some important questions. These verses shine lights on our souls. They x-ray our hearts. Let’s look at them now.

If you look at this passage closely, there are really two sets of commands. Don’t do this. But do this instead. I want to take each of those pairs in turn. And I want to turn each pair into a question that diagnoses what’s going on inside us.

Our Investment

Here’s the first question: where’s your investment? The other day I got a link in an email from my good buddy, Dan Glosson. I clicked on it, and it took me to some sort of an ad. Later that day, I saw he put something up on Facebook about an older Yahoo account of his being compromised. Aarik Danielsen, an elder here, put this up in the comments: “So… you’re not a Nigerian prince? #dang.” Now I know firsthand that wasn’t the type of email Dan’s account sent out, but we’ve all gotten those. Right? Someone overseas wanting you to help them out. Or wanting you to assist them in some way.

Now, we all know that’s a bad investment. But Jesus here, in Matthew 6, warns us of making investments here that are far worse than that. He says, in verse 19, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.” Don’t do this, he says. Don’t pack away stuff that will rust and rot. Don’t hoard up stuff that burglars can run off with. Don’t do it. One day, it’ll all be gone. You’ll be left empty-handed. You’ll be left disappointed.

Where’s your investment? Is it in things that won’t last? I grew up in a home where cleanliness was way more valuable than godliness. Everything was sanitized and polished or everything melted down and came unglued fast. An orderly, spotless house equalled heaven. A dirty, cluttered home was our hell. Well, a few years back, my folks sold the home they labored to keep in pristine, perfect condition all of those years. You could say it was bought by people who didn’t share those same values. And now it’s a complete wreck. I’m talking cars on blocks in the yard. All of those efforts were wasted. Now dogs relieve themselves on those carpets that were protected and scrubbed. Our focus was off. We’d have been better off using all that energy on some pyramid scheme.

Where’s your investment? In other words, where’s your focus? That’s what Christ is talking about in verses 22-23.

Matt. 6:22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

Your eye lets in light, allowing you to see. If you’re blind, that’s obviously not the case. Jesus is saying, if our focus is on the light - on good, beautiful, true, and eternal things, our hearts will be healthy. They’ll be full of light. If our eyes don’t focus on the right things, we’ll be unhealthy. We’ll be full of darkness. Now we understand this with obvious things like pornography. But the context here has to do with possessions. Fixate on those things, and our hearts will also be black. It’ll be as if we’re blind - to what’s important, to what’s ultimate. Our focus will be off. Our investment will be bad. And it will destroy us.

Here in Karis, we have three simple rules for sermons. A, it’s got to be rooted in a passage of Scripture. B, it’s got to take us to Jesus, to the gospel. C, it’s either got to have a John Piper quote or a Lord of the Rings reference. Just kidding, there, but it’s so hard not to see Smeagol in this passage, right? He runs after this ring of power, and it gradually turns him into a monster. Into Gollum.

Where’s your investment? Your focus? My wife says I’m a bit of a geek. I don’t know about that. But I’ve spent a fair amount of time this winter researching and utilizing something that might be geeky. I love pens. I spend a big bulk of my time writing. I love the feeling of not just writing but the tactile experience of using a really good pen. This winter I’ve gotten into fountain pens. I love the variety of instruments, the options with ink, the different types of papers. But I’ve spent an embarrassing amount of time and money there. Last year, it was board games. What started as a desire to spend quality time with my wife and kids became a bit of an obsession. Maybe you can’t relate to those. Maybe for you it’s hunting rifles. Or scrapbooking accessories. Or the latest release on vinyl. Or coffee varieties. Or car models. Or electronic gadgets. Or sports statistics. Ouch. Or paint colors. Or kitchen gadgets. Or video games. You take good things, or at least permissible things. You spend an inordinate amount of time and money on them. You act like they’re ultimate things.

And that’s the direction Jesus takes things in the next few verses. Toward worship. Toward idolatry. Where’s your investment? In other words, what do you worship? Our Lord says, in verse 24, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” We can have two employers. Most of us have had two or three jobs at one time or another. But here Jesus is talking about slave masters. You can’t have two of those. A master will only let you have one. You either serve the Lord. Or you serve money. You can’t have it both ways. We may try to convince ourselves that we can, but it’s a lie. He demands that we serve Him. If you think you can spend all your time on your work and put the Lord on hold, you’re kidding yourself. If you think you can focus on raking in more and more cash, and come back to Him later, you’re nuts. If you think you’re the one person who can juggle both, you’re wrong. Money is dangerous. It’s a master like no other. Loving it leads away from God and to all sorts of evils. Who are you serving? Who are you worshipping? Where’s your investment?

Perhaps you’ve heard the name Markus Persson. He created the wildly popular video game Minecraft that he sold to Microsoft. Now he’s a billionaire. And he’s depressed and lonely. He posted on Twitter several months ago: “Hanging out in Ibiza with famous friends and partying with famous people, able to do whatever I want, and I’ve never felt more isolated.” All his old friends think he “sold out.” He sold what was most important for that which could never satisfy. Just like us.

Jesus says, “Don’t lay up for yourselves treasures on earth.” He says, rather, in verse 20, “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” Don’t have the wrong focus. Don’t worship the wrong thing. Make a good investment. Why? We’ve already seen one reason. That stuff will one day be gone. Plus, it’ll probably outlast you. You might have missed the testimony from our brother Jake Gonzales last week, but one thing he’s been reminding us all, through his story, is that he - and we - could be gone any minute. He’s more aware of that. He’s got a heart pump inside of him. It could malfunction somehow, or he could get an infection at any point. He’s not sure how much time he has. But that’s all of us. When our moment comes, what do we want to be doing? Googling “best fountain pen ink”? Seriously?

Some of you are sports fans. Did you hear what Green Bay Packers superstar wide receiver Gordy Nelson did this season, while he sat out after injuring his knee? He was a long-term substitute teacher for his son’s elementary school class. He didn’t play Xbox. He didn’t pimp his house. He tried to do something that mattered.

“Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” Invest yourselves in loving God and neighbor. In sharing the gospel. In serving those around you. In seeking to do God’s will. The stock market is spiraling right now. The housing market may bubble and burst. But lay up those heavenly treasures. They’ll pay off. They won’t disappoint. Those things will consume us but not fill us. And they just won’t last. But there’s another reason Jesus gives here. It’s in a verse I skipped over, in verse 21. Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Invest yourself in material things, and that’s what you’ll be about. Your heart will change. It’ll be about earthly things. You’ll look in the mirror and see a different person.

We act like people are born materialists. Or people just wake up one day and that’s who they are. But materialists are made, one choice at a time. Sure, some people wake up on a pile of money. But for most, wealth is accumulated a little at a time. And our hearts are renewed or destroyed in those moments. I’m not saying we can’t enjoy God’s good gifts. We should. The Bible encourages this. But invest wisely. Store up heavenly treasures, church. Not earthly ones. Invest wisely, Karis.

Our Trust

Let’s turn to the second set of commands here. And our second question. Whom do you trust? First, where’s your investment? Second, whom do you trust?

The other night there was a loud thump in our house. And one of my kids got really, really scared. It sounded like it was coming from the front door or the basement, so he quickly moved to the back of the house, near the patio door. And he kept yelling my name. And saying, “Dad, come here. I’m scared.” I couldn’t grab my phone and get out there fast enough. Well, I wasn’t worried. As I suspected, it was the shoes thumping in the dryer. They had popped the door open. I understood where he was coming from. But I wanted him just to trust me.

Jesus says here, in verse 25, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.” Whom do you trust? In other words, what’s your mindset? Jesus describes people fretting about where the food and clothing are going to come from. Stressing out. Freaking out. Jesus gently says, “Stop living like that.”

Notice the reasons he gives. There’s so much more to life than that.Verse 25: “Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” Why sit around even thinking about those things? It’s far worse to spend time worrying about them. That is, when we can ponder more important realities. I’ve mentioned before how I yanked my son out of a campfire. But he couldn’t understand why I chucked my plate of hotdogs down on the way. Why fix our mind on things that don’t matter? There are bigger things to concern ourselves with.

Here’s another reason Jesus gives, in verse 27. It won’t make any difference. Jesus says, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” We act like anxiety actually works. It won’t. It won’t add a minute to our lives. But here’s another way to think about it. Our buddy Jake has been blogging again. Listen to what he said in a post this week:

People always ask me how I’m doing, how I’m handling it all. I usually say this, “I’m doing well. I’ve become happier than I’ve been. I just think being overly sad or mad about it is literally a waste of life. I have no idea how much time I have, and I think God has made me more grateful and thankful than ever before. I’m just trying to live life to the fullest.”

Did you catch that? It isn’t just that it won’t add to our life. It is literally a waste of our life. Each second we worry. So true.

There’s still another reason Jesus gives down in verse 34. Worrying makes no sense.“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Now this is confusing wording, I know. But the point’s not really that difficult. There’s enough stuff to think about today, right? That is, without worrying about tomorrow. Today’s a big enough challenge. D.A. Carson writes this:

“At the same time, he is implicitly teaching that even for his disciples today’s grace is sufficient only for today and should not be wasted on tomorrow. If tomorrow does bring new trouble, there will be new grace to meet it.” (D.A. Carson)

Don’t waste today’s grace on tomorrow’s problems. Corrie Ten Boom once said, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.” Each day, there will be new manna. Take that and thank God. Don’t worry it won’t come when the sun rises.

What’s your mindset? We’d don’t have to dig too far down to realize what’s really going on in our hearts. This is our mindset: it’s all up to us. If there will be food and clothing tomorrow, we’ll have to provide it. Deep down, we know that’s too much for us, so we’re anxious. What a bad way to live, Jesus says! We’re acting like we’re all alone. David Powlison writes, “Central to worry is the illusion that we can control things.” What a tragic mindset.

Whom do you trust? In other words, what’s your identity? That’s the main thing I want you to notice from this passage today. Why all the talk about birds and lilies? Jesus says, in verse 26,

Matt. 6:26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Hear verses 28-29:

Matt. 6:28 … Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,

Matt. 6:29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Why’s Jesus saying this? He wants us to ponder God’s faithfulness. And He wants us to think of our identity. God’s faithful to his creation, right? He cares for the birds. He is mindful of the flowers. But He made us in His image. We’re the pinnacle of His creation. But we’re also the objects of His redemption. He didn’t die for sparrows or lilies. Jesus says, look at them. How much more will God care for you? Spurgeon once said, “Lovely lilies, how ye rebuke our foolish nervousness!” Luther put it like this:

“You see, he is making the birds our schoolmasters and teachers. It is a great and abiding disgrace to us that in the Gospel a helpless sparrow should become a theologian and a preacher to the wisest of men … Whenever you listen to a nightingale, therefore, you are listening to an excellent preacher … It is as if he were saying “I prefer to be in the Lord’s kitchen. He has made heaven and earth, and he himself is the cook and the host. Every day he feeds and nourishes innumerable little birds out of his hand.”

Listen to the birds. Look down at the lilies. Let’s learn. But notice this. Jesus takes it further here. We’re not just the pinnacle of His creation. We’re not just the objections of His redemption. He didn’t just die for us. He brought us into His family. We’re also sons and daughters. Listen to verses 31-32:

Matt. 6:31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

What’s Jesus saying? When you fret, you’re acting like an unbeliever. That’s what he means when he talks about the Gentiles. Why run around like those that don’t believe? But when we worry, we also act like we don’t have a Dad. We act like we’re orphans. Like we have to fight off the bad guys ourselves. We have a Father in heaven. And He’s a pretty good one, at that.

That’s the main reason Jesus gives for why we shouldn’t be anxious. Too much of the time, we’re bad commercials for our faith, for our family. And we’re making ourselves miserable for no reason. Jesus rebukes us, in verse 30. He says,“O you of little faith.” Whom do you trust? We are talking a lot about political candidates right now. Maybe you don’t care, but you should. We should be concerned about two things: his or her character and record. Who they are. What they have done. Both absolutely matter. Hear this: the King of the world is our Dad. And He’s good. And He does right. It’s true.

Whom do we trust? What’s our identity? There are four key questions we can’t afford to answer incorrectly. Who is God? What has He done? Who are we? What do we do? Who is He? He is a great, glorious, good, and gracious God. What has He done? He has always provided for His people, and especially in salvation. Who are we? We are His children, His chosen, special people. What do we do? There are lots of things, but we certainly should trust Him and not worry. So much of the time, we just want to talk about what we’re supposed to do. But that has to be rooted in our identity. It has to be rooted in His identity and what He does. In other words, we’ve got to get into our heart. His character is rock solid. His track record is flawless. Do we believe that? He will provide. It’s His job, not ours. He is a good, faithful Father. Whom do we trust, church?

There’s been a fair amount of anxiety in my heart as we’ve struggled to pay our bills here this past year. But as we approach 10 years, as we celebrate a “Decade of Grace,” I can’t help but remember all He has done. I remember when my family of five was living on $1500 a month. I remember when the owner of the Tiger Hotel first called and wanted to kick us out. I remember when the new owner let us know he was doing it for real. I remember how the Lord provided Calvary for us to worship in. How He gave us this gathering space right here. He’s never left us without what we needed. He has been so faithful. We’ve got to remember that. That’s what He wants for us, Karis. He doesn’t want us to be anxious. That dishonors Him, church. He wants us to trust Him. For this big family. And your little family.

We’re commanded here not to be anxious. Jesus doesn’t want us fretting about our meals and shelter. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be responsible. It doesn’t mean we don’t provide for our families. It’s just not up to us. We walk by faith.

When you think about it, the fretting here isn’t that far down the road from the person storing up treasures on earth. Why do we store up those treasures? To insulate ourselves from trouble down the road. We worry far in advance. Or we protect ourselves from future worry. Either way, we think we’re the ones who have to provide. It’s not that we don’t plan or don’t save. We should. We just have to remember who’s God.

In Luke 12, Jesus tells this parable of a man who builds bigger barns to store more grains to protect himself for the days ahead. He wants to just chill out in retirement and never worry. What is Christ’s point? Listen to verses 20-21.

Luke 12:20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

It’s foolish to live in fear. My wife didn’t know what she was getting into when she married me - in a lot of ways. But she was floored when she saw what was stored up in my attic. There were a bunch of milk jugs and two liter bottles of water. Why? I was caught up in fear about Y2K like so many people. The computers were going to bring us all down, right? The water supply was going to be compromised. But I was going to be prepared. Both the person fretting in the moment and the one packing things in advance are living out of fear, right? What’s our mindset, church? What’s our identity? In whom do we trust?

But there is again another positive command. It’s in verse 33. Jesus says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Instead of running around, freaking out, we should run after these things. This is what should consume our minds and hearts. But I think this verse also ties the whole section together. We’re all seeking something. We’re living for something. His kingdom and His righteousness are the only things that will satisfy us. Passing, earthly things won’t provide that. The treasures on this earth won’t give us peace. Only His “kingdom” and“righteousness”will.

What does that mean? God’s “kingdom” has come in Christ. More and more people are putting themselves under His gracious reign. And one day, Philippians 2 says, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. Until then, we’re called to spread His reign to those around us and bring ourselves increasingly under it. That moves into the idea of seeking His “righteousness.” Our ambition must be to bring more and more of our life in alignment with His will. Doing what He says can feel like a straightjacket. At least that’s what our culture says. But it actually brings us in line with how we were created. It’s the way to find true and lasting freedom.

In community, we share the gospel with those around us. In deed. We spread shalom, giving previews of the new world to come. In word. We invite all to become a part of that new heavens and new earth. Together, we try to show what it looks like to live under that kingdom here and now.

The implication here is that, if we pursue those things first and foremost, everything else will fall into place. “All these things will be added to you.” Our needs will be met now and into the future. We won’t have to fret in the day to day. We won’t have to stress in advance. It doesn’t mean that God at times won’t will that His people suffer. It doesn’t mean we’ll always have exactly what we want. It just means that either here or in the new world, He’ll give us what we need. And that, more than anything, means Himself. We follow Him and call others to do the same. We lay up treasures in heaven, not earth. He takes care of running the world.

Changing Our Investment, Growing In Trust

Let me review. Where’s your investment? What’s your focus? Where’s your worship? Jesus tells us to lay up eternal treasures and not ones that won’t last. Whom do you trust? What’s your mindset? What’s your identity? Jesus tells us not to worry, but to seek Him. That’s what Jesus demands of us. He wants a heart that’s “all in” for Him and His people. But what do we do about that? How does our heart get to that place? Let me give you two points of application as we close. Let’s go inside-out and then outside-in.

Inside-out. A point for your hearts. Normally, change happens that direction. Think about that in two ways. First, work on your heart in God’s strength. You want your focus on things above and not on the things of the earth? Get in the word of God. “Set your minds on things that are above.” That’s what Colossians 3:2 says.How can we have minds and hearts that seek Him first, that pursue the things of heaven, if we never read our Bibles? Open up the book. Read it with other people.

And while you’re doing it, pray. Ask the Lord to transform you from the inside out. Beg Him to help you get your focus on Jesus and His kingdom. He’ll answer. But there’s another type of prayer I want to point you to.

Second, give your anxiety to God. This passage is primarily about worry, and the Bible’s pretty clear about what to do with this. We give it to Him. We do as Phil 4:6 says. We fight anxiety through prayer. We make our “requests known to God.” We do what 1 Peter 5:7 says. We cast “all our cares on him, because He cares for [us].” We acknowledge that we can’t handle these things. We affirm our trust is in Him. Maybe my son yelling, “I’m scared, Daddy,” is exactly what he should do. Maybe it’s not showing a lack of trust but the opposite.

Catch these powerful words from Matt Chandler:

"Really, prayer and worry are of the same essence. They are both a rehearsing of circumstances, a mulling over, and a kind of mental and emotional chewing. But worry is a choice made in distrust, there’s no connection, no traction, and no relational receiver. It’s like spinning our wheels. Worrying is like trying to travel in a rocking chair. But when we pray, we are worrying at God. We take those anxieties and direct them Godward, taking them to Him, placing them before Him, and of utmost importance, handing them over.” (Matt Chandler)

Get your heart before Jesus, Karis. He will change you. He will.

Outside-in. One for the hands. Did you notice the direction Matthew 6:21 moves? “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” What we pursue, what we invest ourselves in — that reflects our hearts. But doesn’t Jesus say here that it will also end up shaping our hearts? “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Do you want your heart to change? Choose to obey. Take some risks. Invest your time, your talent, your treasure in ways you haven’t before. I’ll guarantee your heart will eventually catch up.

Invest your time. Find a way to serve. Here on Sunday. In your MC. For your neighbor. Make it a place where there are needs - maybe in an area you’re not even that excited about. Choose a place that may not be that easy.

Invest your talent. Use your gifts. Maybe you’ve always given your leftovers to God. Use your skills first for Him for awhile. The needs are all over our city. All over our church.

Invest your treasure. Give more than you have in the past. Start if you’ve not given before. Give faithfully to your church family. Invest in other ministries around you.

All of this may be hard at first. But your heart will follow. It will. And it leave you rooted in One who will never disappoint you. All other masters enslave and destroy. But as Tim Keller has written,

“The living God, who revealed himself both at Mount Sinai and on the Cross, is the only Lord, who, if you find him, can truly fulfill you, and, if you fail him, can truly forgive you.” (Tim Keller)

He’ll forgive us of our worry. And He’ll free us of our fear. And as He frees us from that fear, our hearts will be freed to be more and more generous. He has been so gracious to us. He is “all in” for us. “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” How can we not be “all in” for others?

And as that fear gets eradicated from our lives, we’ll also be freed up to live more and more boldly. We’ll seek His kingdom, His righteousness, no matter the cost. Because we know that we’re headed for treasures in heaven. Because we know that His kingdom is ours. We’ll be “all in” for Him. May the Lord make us generous, bold people, who invest wisely, who trust completely. Let’s pray.

Here is my sermon from Sunday. You can listen here. You can grab the PDF here.

Becoming Known for Prayer (Acts 4:23-37) | 01.26.13

Next week, we’ll launch a series called “Jesus is Everything” from the book of Colossians. This week, as we move into the New Year, I want to talk about vision. Where are we currently as a congregation? Where do I see the Lord leading us in the coming year? My prayer is that we’ll be known for something maybe we’ve not been known for before.

What would you say Karis Church is known for? Some might say we’re about the gospel. That we’re always talking about Christ’s life, death, and resurrection for us, and what it means in our every day lives. Others might say we’re about community. We love each other well. We’re a big family. We’re truly there for each other. Still others might describe us as being about mission. We’ve tried to be out in our city, seeking her good. We’ve tried to love people and share Jesus.

But here’s what I want us to think about today: would anyone call us a praying church? I fear they wouldn’t. The American church doesn’t pray much at all, and I’m afraid we’re not much different most of the time. Today, I want to talk about why this might be the case, give some reasons why it simply can’t, and close with some ideas about how to repent and grow as a church. Let’s pray and begin.

A Problem of Arrogance

Why wouldn’t we be known as a praying church? I have an idea - from looking in the mirror. Here’s a confession: I think I know everything, and I think I can do everything. I’m a know-it-all. I’m a do-it-all. Therefore, I’m not as motivated to pray as I should. I’m arrogant. When there is something to be done, I grab the white board and go at it. I figure it out. When there is some sort of problem, I send an email and try to fix it. I take care of business.

But this is all so foolish. I try to play God. We do that as a church, as well. We completely forget who we are. We’re arrogant. We convince ourselves we know what to do. We fool ourselves into thinking we can achieve results.

The truth is that we’re in great need of wisdom. And our good Lord promises to give it. Look at James 1 with me:

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

In the trials of life, in the pressures of doing ministry, the Lord will give us wisdom. We just need to call out and ask Him. And we have to pray in a way that truly believes He will provide it. We pray in faith, believing He’ll guide us, teach us, care for us. We need His wisdom. He wants us to ask Him for it. And we can’t hear verse 5 as referring to just “those people” that lack wisdom. It’s all of us. If we’d admit that, we’ll be praying people.

But it’s not just that we don’t know much on our own. We also can’t do anything on our own. Turn with me to John chapter 15.

John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Did you hear that? Apart from me, you can do nothing. APART FROM ME, YOU CAN DO NOTHING. We’re not only clueless. We’re powerless. If we understood that, we’d pray. Look with me now to 1 Corinthians 3.

1 Cor. 3:5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

You hear that? God gives the growth. GOD GIVES THE GROWTH. Paul says, the people doing the ministry really aren’t anything. God’s the one with the real power to grow people, to grow His church. Not us. Paul Miller writes, in A Praying Life, “If you are not praying, then you are quietly confident that time, money, and talent are all you need in life." Our lives reveal how we truly view our Lord. Scripture says God gives the increase. If we got that into our thick heads, we’d pray.

But if we acknowledge that, I don’t think we fully grasp it. Here’s what I mean. We often view prayer together like a football team does. What do I mean? You throw a few words up in the sky. Maybe you say the Lord’s prayer. You run out of the tunnel and get to work. You pray. You play. But here’s the problem with that, friends: prayer is the game. More than that, it’s the work. If we can’t do anything without Him, if He brings the growth, then prayer is essential. Hear Eric Alexander on this:

In the Christian church over the years, we have turned the truth upside down, and commonly speak of ‘praying for the work’ - the implication being that prayer is an additional ingredient to our Christian service. The truth is that prayer is the real work, and apart from it, all other work is in vain. The reason for that is quite simple. It is that essentially this work in which we are engaged is God’s work, not man’s. There are endless lists of things that men and women can do: we can intellectually convince people, we can emotionally move them and we can materially improve them. But only God can spiritually resurrect them out of spiritual death into life in Christ; only God can convict their conscience and convince them of their need for a Savior; only God can open the eyes of the spiritually blind and give them sight; and only God can transform their character and recreate them into the image of Christ. And, my dear friends…that is the essence of the work in which we are engaged… Now if the conversion of sinners is God’s work, the simple question we must ask and answer is, “To whom do we apply to have this work done?” The only answer logically as well as theologically is ‘to God’. That is why prayer is fundamental rather than supplemental in our service. That is why the primary evangelistic method is prayer. (Eric Alexander)

Do we grasp this? I don’t think so. Prayer feels inefficient. But it’s how kingdom things happen. We need to repent of our know-it-all, do-it-all, “we are God” attitude, and pray. Karis, we are a pretty intelligent bunch. We’re a pretty driven bunch. But we’re just fooling ourselves. He is the all-wise one. He is the one who does the work. We must be people who pray.

I want this posture of prayer to work its way into those of us who lead things here in Karis. I’m going to use some battle imagery here. There are at least two key responsibilities military leaders have to be aware of. The first is strategy. What is our plan? Specifically, what’s the pathway to victory? Strategy. These are decisions before the conflict. Here’s the second important category: tactics. These are decisions made in the moment. The enemy does this, now we do that. Things change. How do we respond? Anybody seen Blackhawk Down? The military leaders had a strategy for going in and taking out the Somalian warlord who was wreaking havoc in that country. But things didn’t go so well. For one thing, a helicopter went down. The armies there were significantly more prepared than they thought. What would then be their tactics for getting out of there alive?

Strategy and tactics. Throughout Karis Church, I want both to be characterized by prayer. As we plan, we ask, “What should we do? How are we going to do it? Lord, help us.” As things change, as things don’t go as we plan, we ask, “What now, Lord? Will you work, Lord? Come to our aid.” May this be true in our lives as individuals. May it be true as we live and serve as family together - in our missional communities, in our church as a whole.

Two Truths, Two Questions

Today I want to give you four important truths. I want to give you four questions in response to those truths. The truths, if grasped, would motivate us to pray. The questions, if understood, would guide us in how to pray. Here’s truth number one: We are lacking in wisdom, but He’s all-knowing. Here is the corresponding question: “What would the Lord have us to do?”

Here is the second truth: We are powerless, but He is strong. Here is the question that goes along with that: “What would happen if the Lord were in this?” It’s my prayer that these truths and corresponding questions would saturate everything we do together here. To get there, though, we need a big dose of humility and dependence. That’s the first thing we probably need to pray for, right? That we’d be slapped out of our arrogance and see how desperate we are for Him.

Trials and Prayer

But how might the Lord answer that prayer? How do we most often learn that lesson? Through trials, right? Hard circumstances - and we’re either in them or they’re around the bend. They tell us we don’t know what we should, that we can’t do everything. They’re meant to leave us with no hope but God. We typically turn to Him in prayer when things are hard. We’re more aware of our need then. But are we any more needy than other times? Of course not! The reality is that we’re in that situation every day. We need Him. Struggles wake us up. They remind us we’re in the middle of a battlefield.

A Problem of Faithlessness

That speaks to another reason why we’re not much of a praying church. Here’s another confession: I’m clueless and forgetful so much of the time. I think things are great. I lose sight that I’m in the middle of a war. I don’t realize it, but I’m walking around getting owned by the enemy. I also live unaware much of the time that God has given me a mission. I’m supposed to spread His kingdom. I neglect that responsibility too much. That’s why I don’t pray.

This is all so ridiculous. I lose track of reality. We do that as a church, as well. We completely forget where we are. We’re faithless. We’re faithless in that we don’t fight back against our enemy. We’re faithless in that we don’t engage ourselves in His mission.

We’re like a soldier driving around Mogadishu, singing and dancing to the radio, when there’s a guy with a RPG launcher pointed right at our humvee. Or it’s like we’re another G.I. who’s looking for seashells on the Somalian seashore while Private Sally is a mile away taking all the bullets.

The truth is that we’re in the middle of a battle. Look with me at Ephesians chapter 6.

Eph. 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.

Satan is trying to take us out. He’s trying to get us to give up our faith. He’s trying to lead us toward unbelief and sin. We’ve got to put on the armor of the gospel. We have to believe in Him and believe that we are IN Him. Otherwise, we’re sunk. Now most of this paragraph deals with armor, but look again at verses 17 and 18. We have the “sword,” the “word of God.” But we’re also commanded to pray. “At all times.” “In the Spirit.” With all kinds of prayer. With supplication. That’s asking for specific things. One of the main things is that we would stand and not fall. We ask that for our brothers and sisters, as well. That’s how we fight back. Those are our weapons. I know a guy who was with his wife and dog in their home in Boston, hiding in the bathtub while the police were trying to apprehend the marathon bombers. Bullets were coming through their walls. All they knew to do was pray. They got caught in the middle of a battle. Friends, we are in a battle. We have an enemy who is more powerful than any terrorist or warlord. If we grasped that, we’d sure pray a lot more, right? Without the Lord, we’re sunk!

But we’re not just on defense. We’re on offense. We’re to storm the enemy. We’re to gain the victory. We have been given a mission. Read some more with me of chapter 6 of Ephesians:

To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

Paul understood He had a mission. He was called to “proclaim the mystery of the gospel.” He was to “declare it boldly.” He knew it was only going to be effective if it was covered in prayer. Guess what? It’s not just Paul who was given the mission. Not just Apostles. Not just preachers. This Great Commission is given to each of us. It’s given to all of us - His Church. We are to spread His kingdom. And it’s only gonna come about through God’s power.

If we really understood that, we’d pray. Often times we don’t pray because we’re not doing anything that requires God. We’re either getting destroyed by Satan - we’re not fighting against sin. Or we’re being completely disobedient to our calling. We’re not being missionaries. We’re not doing jack, so we don’t feel a need for Him.

Remember, the expectation isn’t just that we survive. It’s that we attack our enemy, spread God’s kingdom, and win this mission. Look at Matthew 16 with me.

Matt. 16:13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Here’s what’s exciting about this passage. Jesus says, about His church, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Christ isn’t saying that Satan isn’t gonna get inside the gates of heaven. This isn’t defense we’re talking about. He’s saying that the Enemy won’t stop us from ransacking hell. This is offense. This isn’t Richard Sherman knocking down Peyton Manning’s pass and talking smack. This is Marshawn Lynch running over Champ Bailey for a touchdown and howling in victory. That’s the picture here. We’re going to win this mission. And the only way we will is if God is at work. Where do I get that? Jesus says, “I will build my church.” Hear that? “I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH.” HE will do it. And if it’s He who will do it, He wants us to ask Him to do it. We need to pray.

I fear most of the time that we see prayer as optional, as something not too necessary. But it’s for survival. If we don’t do it, we’ll get owned. And it’s integral. If we ignore it, we won’t have success. If you think about war, it used to be fought in lines. People would march out in revolutionary days, upright just waiting to get killed. Later, in the World Wars, people would at least fight in a bit more of a guerrilla fashion, creeping up or crawling up, hiding out in foxholes, not exposing themselves to get shot. Regardless, you could still find people who were truly fighting on the “front lines.” Here’s what we have to understand: prayer is the front line of our warfare. If we don’t pray, the enemy infiltrates us and we get killed. More importantly, if we don’t pray, we don’t take over his territory. We’re not playing not to lose. We’re playing to win. Rather, we’re praying to win.

Do we grasp this? Most of the time I don’t think we do. We need to repent of our cluelessness, our living like we’re on a vacation. We need to repent of our forgetfulness, for neglecting the mission he’s given us. Karis, we’re not diligent enough in fighting sin. We easily give into temptation too much of the time. And, we’re not winning people to Jesus enough. We’re not using that baptistry enough. We need Him to stay on mission. We need Him to fulfill our calling.

Let me take the military imagery a bit further. Before I talked about leadership. We need to think of prayer strategically and tactically. Let’s zoom in to your lives and mine. Here are two more angles I want you to think about.

First, what’s your weapon? How are you fighting as Satan and the world come at you? With God’s word. But it also has to be done through prayer. That’s your gun. We must use it! Second, what’s your reflex? If someone jumps over your foxhole, you’d better be ready. You better be ready to fire. When you are tempted with sin, what is your instinct? When someone asks you a question about your faith, what do you do? You should pray. It should come naturally.

Our weapon. Our reflex. Throughout our church family, I want us to help each other grow until more and more, when we feel attacked, when we undergo suffering, we respond with, “Lead us not into temptation, Lord! Deliver us from evil!” As we go out into our city, seeking to share His message, I want us to help each other become people who say, “Lord, will you open doors? Will you give us boldness? Will you help us speak clearly?”

Two More Truths, Questions

Let me give you two more truths and two more questions. The truths motivate us to pray, again. The questions, give us direction as to how best do it. Truth number three: We’re in a spiritual war, but He can preserve us. Here is the corresponding question: “How might He strengthen us in battle?” Here is the fourth truth: We’ve been sent on a mission, and He can use us. Here is the question that goes along with that: “How could God spread His kingdom through us?”

If we had these four truths and questions in our hearts, and they seeped into our lives and ministries, some amazing things would happen. That’s what God wants for us. But we need a dose of reality and a whole lot of dependence first. We need to ask for that.

The Praying Early Church

If we really understood all of this, we’d be known as a praying church. But think about that for a second. Isn’t it almost absurd to think of a church that doesn’t pray? First of all, prayer is such a basic part of being a Christian. It’s like breathing. Humans breathe. Christians pray. In Acts 9:11, just after Saul the villain is converted and becomes Paul the Christian, the Lord appears to a man named Ananias and tells him to go talk to him. Listen to what God says to him: “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying.” Hear that? He is praying. He’s now a Christian. He’s calling out to God through Jesus in prayer. Jim Cymbala says, “We are not New Testament Christians if we don’t have a prayer life.” It’s basic, friends.

But it was also the strategy, the tactics, the weapon, the reflex of the early church. Look at the passage we read at the beginning today, from Acts chapter 4. There is a prayer in verses 23-30. They ask the Lord, in verses 29-30:

Acts 4:29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

They call out in prayer, asking for boldness to preach and wonders to accompany those sermons. God powerfully answers their prayer. Great things happen. Verse 33 says, “And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.” There is a clear pattern in Acts that should be our pattern, as well. They prayed. They received the Spirit and much boldness. They preached. God worked and changed lives. They then got persecuted. And the cycle started all over. Friends, if we are going to be the church - that is, in the true, New Testament sense - we have to be people who pray.

The Current Need in Karis

And friends, I don’t think this is ever needed more than now, in my life, as well as in the life of Karis. First of all, I’ll share more details at the Members’ Meeting today, but our days here in Calvary Baptist are limited. That doesn’t worry us. Don’t you worry, either. I actually think we’ve gotten way to complacent here, and we need a shakeup. But this is a trial. And it’s going to remind us that we need wisdom, that we need Him to work. I think back to my days at the coffee house, trying to make a latte but plant a church. I’ve felt just like those days. But God is faithful.

In addition, I’m convinced we have neglected our mission. This place hasn’t resulted in much in the way of growth for us. We’ve let Satan overtake us a bit. We haven’t spread His kingdom enough. I’m also excited to share some developments in that meeting that will lead, Lord willing, to us rebooting, and returning to faithfulness, particularly in central Columbia. I remember those early days. Every conversation was purposeful. My prayers were constant. I saw my need for Him. I got comfortable. I’m seeing the truth again. Karis, let’s come together and become known as a praying church.

Rather, let’s not be concerned about being known for anything. Let’s concern ourselves with HIM being known. Let’s think about His reputation, about His glory. And if we get into the business of praying faithfully in these ways, He will be known. In addition, our experience of the gospel would even be more real. Our life as community would be even richer. And our mission would sure extend a lot further.

Some Suggestions for You and Us

Let me give you some practical ways I want to see us grow. This 40 Hours of Prayer we had last week was a great start. It was awesome to think that we filled every slot. But let me tell you, the Lord worked. We asked for open doors and clarity about our site. He answered. But let’s keep that going.

First of all, as individuals, let’s ask the Lord to work in us a disciplined time of prayer each day while also asking Him to give us a Spirit of continual prayer. Let’s encourage each other in this way. Let’s hold each other accountable to that. Related, as we hang and share with one another, let’s make it our instinct to pray immediately, on the spot, for one another. Let’s make that our main reflex. Let’s fight to see it as our main weapon.

Second, as a church family, let’s ask the Lord to increasingly shape us into people who get our strategy and our tactics through prayer. I want to see our MCs praying for their neighborhoods, praying for each other. I want our teams of leaders to make prayer something that we really believe in, something that we really practice.

More specifically, here’s a challenge. I am asking God to work so that corporate prayer will be a part of Karis Church each and every day. I envision early morning Karis prayer meetings taking place in downtown Columbia daily. I’ve already got Dan Glosson committed to lead it up Thursdays at 6 a.m. He’s going to recruit his peeps to join him. Now I just need six more people for the other mornings. Would you step up and serve in that way?

Praying Hands Required

Here in Karis, we have six identities we talk about. We are learners. We are worshippers. We are family. We are servants. We are storytellers. We are peacemakers. Some time ago, I had this idea for graphics that could be hung up here on Sundays that picture those identities through hands. Nobody bit on it. I think people thought it was a bit lame, and maybe it was, but I liked it. For learners, you have hands holding an open Bible. For worshippers, you have raised hands. For servants, you have hands washing feet. For family, you might have hands embracing with a hug. For storytellers, you might have a hand holding a Bible up in the air. For peacemakers, you might have hands serving food.

I realized I had forgotten something. Something really important. Praying hands. Seen pictures of hands clasped in prayer? That was missing. I recognized it then. But I don’t know that it really sunk in. When I look in the mirror, I see an arrogant person, a faithless person. I think as a church we’ve looked the same. Will you repent with me? Will you believe that the Lord wants to hear us, answer us, bless us, and use us? May He make us a praying church, Karis.